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Today's News - Friday, July 25, 2014

An event is scheduled tomorrow morning at 10 to mark the 12th anniversary of the Quecreek Miner Rescue in Somerset County. Nine miners were trapped underground for 77 hours in July 2002. The flag ceremony is at Bill Arnold’s dairy farm, the site of the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation Museum. The Foundation’s visitors’ center sees 10 thousand visitors annually. Admission to the museum will be free all day tomorrow.

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23-year-old Stephen Huger of Johnstown has been ordered to stand trial in connection with a July 12 shooting in Hornerstown. Police say he went into a Fronheiser Street home with a handgun and demanded money from Nigel Beaton. The two men struggled and Beaton was shot in the hand. He then grabbed the gun and shot huger in the leg. He remains in the Cambria County Prison.

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Johnstown police say a 16-year-old New Jersey boy was shot three times early Thursday near the Oakhurst Homes. He was hit twice in the chest and once in the arm. The boy walked to a friend’s house where they called 911. He was taken to Memorial Medical Center, but is not cooperating with police in their investigation. Because the teen was staying with someone in Oakhurst Homes illegally, the housing authority has evicted those people.

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Pension costs plus retirement and severance benefits caused the City of Johnstown to spend almost $700 thousand dollars over its 2013 budget. The city’s pension plan has already been changed, but it will take a while to notice any effect.

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Some pennsylvanians could get obama-care refunds. Under the 80/20 provision in the affordable care act, insurers must spend at least 80-percent of premium dollars and quality improvement or else they owe consumers a refund check, reduction, reimbursement, or an improvement in health care coverage. Federal officials say about 90 thousand state residents could receive reimbursement and the average refund will total $75.

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French officials say bad weather likely caused the crash of an Air Algerie flight in Africa. French investigators believe the jet broke apart on impact and have ruled out the possibility that the plane was attacked before it crashed.

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Today is a "Day of Rage" in the West Bank. Palestinian factions declared the day-long protest after a man was shot to death in violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem Thursday night.

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Dutch police hope to recover more victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash from Ukraine today. Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte says his country will send in more experts to try and make the crash site safe enough to search for victims' remains.

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Negotiations between the Senate and House over reforming the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs are stalled. Republican House Speaker John Boehner blames the White House.

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A New York City councilman is leveling charges of racism in connection with the chokehold death of a Staten Island man. Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams is calling on the council and the de Blasio administration to acknowledge that Eric Garner was targeted because he's black.

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Authorities say a doctor at a Philadelphia-area hospital pulled his own gun on a shooting suspect. Delaware County district attorney Jack Whelan says the suspect was hit three times. The incident happened Thursday afternoon near Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital.

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A congressional panel is sending a bill to the full House which authorizes a lawsuit against President Obama. The House Rules Committee signed off on the measure with a recommendation for approval. GOP House Speaker John Boehner wants to sue the President for going too far with executive actions.

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Three Americans, including a "Washington Post" reporter, are being held in Iran. The newspaper says correspondent Jason Rezaian and his wife were detained Tuesday. The two other Americans being held have not been identified but U.S. officials say they work as freelance photojournalists.

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Texas and Florida lead the way in job growth. The latest rankings from "Forbes" show five Texas cities in the top ten. Among them are San Antonio and Houston. Three Florida cities made the list, including Naples. Rounding out the top ten are Greeley, Colorado and Raleigh, North Carolina.

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The young Sudanese woman who nearly lost her life for her Christian faith is due to return to the U.S. in the next few days. Meriam Ibrahim finally left Sudan Thursday with her husband, Daniel Wani, and their two children. She then flew to the Vatican for a private blessing ceremony by Pope Francis.

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People in San Clemente, California are creeped out after dolls bearing a resemblance to their daughters were found on their front porches. Orange County Sheriff's officials say at least eight families have reported the dolls being placed on their front porches over the past week. Authorities are now trying to determine if the dolls are a prank or a sign of something more sinister.

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Second quarter numbers sound good to Pandora. The biggest Internet radio service reports gains in both revenue and earnings. Sales were up 43 percent, to $218.9 million, beating analysts' estimates. Earnings were four cents a share, one better than forecasts.

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Samsung's newest TV is really big, in every way. The top-of-the-line set from the South Korean electronics giant has a curved, 105-inch screen, a dramatically sharper picture – and a 120-thousand dollar price tag.

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It has to be a good day when the Queen of England photobombs your selfie. It happened at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland this week. Two Australian field hockey players wanted a selfie with Queen Elizabeth in the background and framed the shot but then the 88-year-old monarch realized what was going on and flashed a big smile for the camera.